Belmont Beacon
MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014 - JULY 20, 2014
belmontbeacon.com
VOLUME 1, NO. 11
Immigration crisis: Obama requests billions, Sexual assault suspect but does not offer potential solution by Jennifer schlueter arrested; additional victims sought
March for immigrant rights. -Photo by Erika Paz
According to the Department of Homeland Security, 57,000 Central American children, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, have crossed the US boarder since October. This number is twice as high as the number of the same period from the previous year and ten times as high as the number of 2009. The children that survive the dangerous journey are fleeing from poverty and crime in their countries, hoping to have a better
life here, or to reunite with parts of their family who are already in the US. Some parents send their children because they believe rumors that their kids will be allowed to stay in the US once they crossed the border. In 2008, former President George W. Bush signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act – a law to fight child/sex trafficking. Whereas Mexicans or Canadians are simply sent back across the border,
this bill grants Central American kids a court hearing to determine whether they are allowed to stay or not. Due to the enormous number of immigrants, and thus, court cases, the children often have to wait years on the decision – years that they spend in processing facilities of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Some children do not even show up in court. Two weeks ago, protestors in
over event is anything more than an isolated incident.” The testing was important to determine that a skunk variant of rabies, which is only noted in Northern California, has not been re-introduced to Southern California where it has not been seen since 1979. Continued vigilance in testing wildlife that is ill or exhibit-
Long Beach and Signal Hill Police arrested a male suspect in connection with two sexual assault cases and it is believed that additional victims may exist. On June 29, 2014, around 11:30 p.m., Long Beach Police were dispatched to an alley in the area of Del Amo and Long Beach Bo Long Beach and Signal Hill Police arrested a male suspect in connection with two sexual assault cases and it is believed that additional victims may exist. On June 29, 2014, around 11:30 p.m., Long Beach Police were dispatched to an alley in the area of Del Amo and Long Beach Boulevards and found a 31-year-old victim who had been beaten and sexually assaulted. It appeared the suspect followed the victim from a nearby bus depot prior to the assault. Long Beach Fire Department transported the
Please see page 2
Please see page 2
Please see page 2
First rabid skunk in LA County since 1979 confirmed to be rabies variant carried by bats The California Department of Public Health confirmed today that the rabid skunk found last week in Long Beach was infected with a rabies virus variant from the Mexican-free-tailed bat. While bats in the area have tested positive for rabies in past years, this was the first confirmed case of rabies in a skunk in Los Angeles County since 1979. Mexican-free-tailed bats are very common in Southern California,
and are the species of bats that most commonly carry rabies in the state. Bat-to-mammal transmission is not uncommon, and the rabid skunk likely had an encounter with a bat infected with rabies. “This is the time of year that we might see more bat rabies, and potentially spillover to terrestrial mammals,” said City Health Officer Dr. Mitchell Kushner. “We do not anticipate that this spill-
Raymond D. Howard -Courtesy Photo